World briefs

SOUTH KOREA’s Constitutional Court will rule tomorrow on whether impeached President Park Geun-hye should permanently leave office over a corruption scandal or be reinstated, a decision that could radically reshape the country’s political landscape.

JAPAN Revised data show Japan’s economy expanded at a slower than hoped for 1.2 percent annual pace in the last quarter of 2016. Abe has struggled to deliver on promises of sustained, stronger growth as frugal consumers and companies have opted to save rather than spend more.

AFGHANISTAN Gunmen wearing white lab coats stormed a military hospital in Afghanistan’s capital yesterday, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group. The brazen assault reflected the capability of militant groups in Afghanistan to stage large-scale and complex attacks in the heart of Kabul.

IRAN says a vessel from a joint U.S. and British naval fleet approached Revolutionary Guard boats in the Strait of Hormuz in an “unprofessional” manner aimed at escalating tensions in the region, through which 30 percent of the world’s sea-borne oil is transported.

UKRAINE foreign minister told U.S. senators that sanctions against Russia shouldn’t be eased and possibly should be ratcheted up as Moscow escalates its military aggression against its western neighbor.

NATO-KOSOVO NATO and the United States warned yesterday they could scale back cooperation with Kosovo’s security services if the government goes ahead with plans to transform its lightly-armed security force into an army without the required constitutional changes.

EUROPEAN UNION The EU’s police agency says an international operation has dismantled a crime network smuggling live eels to China, describing it as the organization’s biggest success in recent years against trafficking in endangered species.

USA WikiLeaks has published thousands of documents described as secret files about CIA hacking tools the government employs to break into users’ computers, mobile phones and even smart TVs from companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung.

ARGENTINA’s most powerful unions brought tens of thousands of people into the capital’s streets to protest government job cuts, the lifting of restrictions on imports and other policies of President Mauricio Macri.

PERU-VENEZUELA Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is calling his ambassador to Venezuela back home for consultations to protest a barrage of attacks by Venezuela’s socialist government.